PERSPECTIVES OF AN
ACCREDITATION ORGANISATION –
TOOLS APPLIED BY THE EUROPEAN
ASSOCIATION OF
ESTABLISHMENTS FOR
VETERINARY EDUCATION (EAEVE).
Gert Niebauer, Vienna, Austria
OIE-Global Conference on
Veterinary Education
Foz do Iguaçu, 4-6 /12 / 2013
European accreditation system
- the 27 and beyond
Basic political concept of European Union:
• Free movement of people, services -regulated
professions – and goods, mutual recognition of
academic degrees and titles
Acceptable quality of services necesitates:
• Standardisation, harmonisation & evaluation
of training: EAEVE-system unique among
regulated professions within EU
• Mission of EAEVE
” to support, promote and
evaluate veterinary education in Europe in all its
aspects “
– primary domestic (EU+affiliated countries)
EAEVE mission statement
• to evaluate veterinary medical
establishments by their teaching quality
and standards within, but not limited to,
the Member States of the European
Union
• Evaluation system gives assurance to
– the public, the competent authorities
– national veterinary statutory bodies
– the students
– the veterinary establishments
EAEVE organisation
• Funded 25 years ago in Paris, offices Vienna
• Inter- transnational evaluating/accrediting
organisation
– Operating on peer review principle
– Members Vet Teaching Establishments
– Membership voluntary
• EAEVE is NOT a government agency, neither
a licensing body
• Negative evaluation outcome has NO legal
consequences (title recognition, free move)
• EU: quality control delegated to Member
States – nat. accrediting agencies, VSB ?
Principles of the EAEVE evaluation
process
• Two stages approach:
– EAEVE language: English
• Stage 1 evaluation yields « approval »
assuring full compliance with teaching
standards / learning standards of EU
directives and EAEVE/FVE/OIE standards
• Stage 2 evaluation yields
« accreditation » (only previously approved
faculties), compliance with academic
quality assurance/management criteria
Training standards based on
EU Directive 36/2005
Minimum requirements (binding) for veterinary
training in Member States :
• 5-year curriculum (minimum)
• Definition and listing of basic- and clinical
science subjects, public health, food hygiene,
animal welfare
• Concept of hands-on clinical teaching in all
common domestic species (dog,cat,horse,
cattle,pig,poultry…..), research-based teaching…
• Concept of « omnicompetent » graduate with
« first-day skills », «essential competences »
• See EAEVE SOP annex IV www.eaeve.org and OIE
EAEVE evaluation criteria integrated
with:
• OIE Recommendations on the
competencies of graduating
veterinarians (2012)
• OIE Guidelines for a Model Core
Veterinary Curriculum (2013)
to assure Minimum Educational Standards
and quality of National Veterinary Services
world-wide
ad hoc Group on Veterinary Education, chaired by AVMA
Evaluation tools of EAEVE (and OIE)
• EAEVE evaluation/accreditation
• Evaluation of standards and performance of
Vet. Teaching Establishments (prescriptive)
• through international peer review
• applying Standard Procedures & benchmarks
• OIE – PVS Tool
• Evaluation of the Performance of
• Veterinary Services
• a tool for Good Governance
of Veterinary Services
The EAEVE Evaluation/accreditation
Process
• EAEVE membership for full evaluation
• School prepares Self Evaluation Report
• on-site visitation by peers+student
– Team of 5 experts + student, 1 week
(from diff.countries, diff.disciplines…)
• Evaluation Report (public)
• Outcome by ECOVE based on Report (s)
– ECOVE joint committee of 3 EAEVE+3 FVE
+ elected chair EAEVE/FVE
Outcome: accredited/approved; conditionally
approved; non-approved
Costs: €8000 plus expenses team
Essentials for a successful evaluation
• All teaching under faculty control
• Majority of teaching intra muros
– Acceptance of distributive teaching model
• Veterinary Teaching Hospital
– All EU-common domestic animal species, 24hr,
hospitalisation, multi-speciality, post-grad edu
• Teaching Farm & Mobile Clinic
• Basic Sciences, Animal Production,
Food Safety/Public Health, Biosecuritysafety, Disease control, Animal welfare
– Not only whether tought but how
Policy on admittance of non-European
faculties
• EAEVE membership welcome but not solicited
• « consultative site visit » prior to admittance
• Membership implies evaluation by SOP and
all applicable EU Regulations/Directives
• Possible areas of conflict
• EU directives are not binding outside EU
• Different importance of specific domestic
animal species
• different needs of society
« Consultative site visit » tool
• Preparation of Self-Evaluation Report
• On-site visit of 2 experts + 1 EAEVE
staff, duration 2 - 3 days
• Evaluation fee €3000 +team expenses
• Result: Letter of recommendation
– appraisal of overall compliance with EAEVE
evaluation/accreditation standards
– Reasonable assurance
– Confidential
– Conditio sine qua non for non-EU
membership candidates
New perspectives for non-European
accreditation
• EU and non-EU members same standards
applied ? Yes – except:
non-EU members may receive « limited
approval »
conditional approval without
possibility for correction
• Limited approval = faculty fulfilling all EU
standards except in one area, linked to
socio-geographical circumstances (outside
EU)
• Limited approval: graduates from such
faculties may have to undergo additional
training in the area of limitation prior to
practice within the EU
Recommendations for non-EU
candidate faculties
• Attaining and fulfilling OIE
recommendations on basic core
curriculum and day 1 competencies
• Requesting EAEVE-consultative visit
positive outcome: EAEVE-membership
Full on-site visit within 3 years
Approval/accreditation ,valid (7)10 years
Conditional approval (valid 5 years)
or « limited approval/accreditation »
« Globalisation » of
accreditation
• « Domestic issues » (EU)
– Joint visitation arrangements with National
(EU) veterinary statutory bodies
– Joint visitations with RCVS
– Joint visitations with AVMA-COE in central
European faculties
• « Foreign issues » (non-EU)
– Collaboration with OIE
– Expansion to the larger mediterrenean
area (REEV-Med network)
– International Accreditors Working Group(AVMA, Austral-Asia & South Africa)